


Nightmare

by Sirenfox



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-21
Updated: 2018-02-17
Packaged: 2018-08-23 20:21:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 21,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8341411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sirenfox/pseuds/Sirenfox
Summary: Something is seriously wrong in Burgess.  Jack's loosing control of his powers, but worse still, the children -his Believers- are disappearing one by one.





	1. Chapter 1

Nightlight - the very first Guardian, Guard of the Man in the Moon, and Protector of Katherine and her Library - was retired.

He loved his current calling, but he missed his old friends dearly.

Katherine would often find him sitting in a window staring wistfully into the night, the moonbeam in his diamond dagger a gentle comforting glow in his otherwise dark room.

Katherine smiled fondly at the boy when she found him, crossing the room to sit by his side, her heart fluttered like the wings of a butterfly under his welcoming smile. "I know how much you miss them. I do too. I can't leave the Library, you know that. But you can."

Nightlight's expression shifted from warm to hard in an instant. Katherine knew exactly what he was thinking, years of friendship having gifted her with that insight, she reached out and rested a small hand on his knee, "It's alright. Nothing bad will happen if you take a small vacation. I'll be fine by myself, and I've got Kailash to keep me company." She told him gently, "Besides, there's that new Guardian now, aren't you a bit curious about him? I know I am."

The eternal youth perked up at the reminder. Yes. He was very curious about this 'Jack Frost'. He had heard a lot about the boy, and none of it was flattering, so how had someone like _that_ become a Guardian? It was baffling.

Katherine beamed, "See, you go visit our friends, then come back and tell me everything."

Nightlight shot the woman a knowing look, to which she just shrugged. Could she help it if she was always looking for new stories? Jack's tale sounded extremely interesting.

Nightlight's smile turned soft and he caught her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze as he leaned in and bestowed a chaste kiss upon her lips.

Her smile grew and a blush stole over her cheeks at the show of affection, watching as he pushed the window open and darted out into the night. She stood there as his silhouette slowly faded into the night until not even the glow of his dagger could be seen.

Once he was gone she carefully closed the window and went to find Mr. Qwerty to finished the book they were currently working on, hoping she could stave off the loneliness clinging to her heart with her dearest friend away.

_*****rotg***** _

Nightlight was not afflicted with the harsh worry or unnatural fear most adults have over what he considered to be silly things. He had no sense of foreboding for a moonless night, and no fear of the dark and what might be lurking in the shadows.

He zipped through the night towards North's workshop with no worries, slowing only when he saw something move out of the corner of his eye. He couldn't see anything in the darkness and he blinked in confusion, glancing upwards.

His confusion turned to alarm as he took in the empty space where his oldest friend, Mim, usually resided. His eyes snapped back at the now shifting shadows, his eyes hardened into shards of diamonds and he took a defensive stance, his dagger-tipped staff held forwards, but the little moonbeam could do nothing to illuminate the teeming darkness.

Something glinted, sharp and stark white against the shadows, spreading into a cruel jagged smile that floated in the black impenetrable abyss.

Nightlight's heart stopped, before skipping back to life and beating a stuttering race in his chest as more dangerous grins took shape, fangs gleamed wetly in the dim light from the single, trapped moonbeam.

The young man stood perfectly still, staring, stunned at the hoard of hungry creatures slowly prowling towards him.

One of the formless shapes lunged at him and Nightlight stumbled back, turning and fleeing with nary a thought. A wailing howl rent the air behind him, sending chills down his spine, urging him to move faster.

The sound cut off abruptly, but Nightlight didn't dare look. He knew, instinctively, that the creatures were in pursuit. He could feel them following him; see their malicious grins gleaming in the shadows all around him.

Fear slowly began to seep into him, such a foreign feeling, one he hadn't felt in decades upon centuries. Not since his departure from the Guardians. It crawled along his veins, digging sharp claws into his heart and scorching his bones.

Bright eyes darted from one demented smile to the next, trying desperately to get ahead of them. Just a little more. He could feel the chill in the air, although the crunch of snow under his feet was swallowed up by the shadows when he wasn't outright flying.

He was almost there.

But blackness swam faster, surrounding him and devouring the snow encased earth below him, leaving only a gaping black hole where the ground should be.

But Nightlight didn't give up, he raced against the ever-growing shadows, desperate to reach safety - to reach North. Before he could break free, though, something solid materialized from the darkness and Nightlight slammed right into it, falling to the cold hard ground he couldn't see.

His weapon slipped from his grasp and clattered to the ground a short distance away, the glow from the moonbeam trembled delicately. Nightlight scrambled after it as the writhing darkness circled ever closer, glowing yellow eyes joining the razor-sharp grins.

The young man's fingers brushed his staff only to freeze when a dark booted foot stepped into his view, followed by a swath of black fabric.

A bone white hand with long spindly fingers reminiscent of spiders legs reached down and plucked Nightlight's staff from the ground. A low, chilling chuckle crooned in his ear causing him to flinch.

"And where do you think you are going? Surely you weren't headed to the North Pole. You left them, remember? Why would they ever want to see you again? Your not a Guardian, Nightlight. Not anymore." Nightlights heart clenched at the words, watching helplessly as Pitch pointed his own dagger back in his face, "They don't need you, in fact, I do believe they've replaced you." Pitch purred, amusement and glee prominent in his tone.

Nightlight felt as if Pitch had plunged that dagger into his heart and he gasped at the pain.

It wasn't true.

It wasn't.

But Pitch was far from through with him. He grinned that familiar sharp smile that was immediately mirrored by the shadowy beings boxing him in, "But fear not, little Nightlight. The Guardians might not need you, but there is something you can do to help me."

Nightlight snarled, surging forwards, intent on making Pitch _stop talking_ but something grabbed him from behind and yanked him back down locking him in place. Thick black tendrils leeched out from the ground and latched themselves around his wrists, neck and waist. He struggled, tugging and straining against the bonds to no avail, only causing them to tighten painfully.

He blinked and Pitch's face loomed over him, so close could feel the man's cold, dead breath gust over his face.

"No one will even realize you are gone. And as a last parting gift, you have given me the means to rid myself of the Guardians. Or, one of them at least." As he said this he drew himself back to his full height and traced the diamond edge of Nightlight's dagger, the little moonbeam inside trembled at the touch as if disgusted or afraid.

Then in a move so fast Nightlight only saw a blur of light, Pitch lunged towards him with the spear. Nightlight had no way to escape and no time to brace himself.

"Light's out." He heard Pitch purr before his world exploded in light.


	2. Chapter II

Cupcake had been watching her favorite movie when she fell asleep, the familiar story leaking into her dreams. Not that she really minded, anytime she dreamt about unicorns was alright with her. Plus the added bonus of Prince Lir making an appearance…and yeah, the preteen was more then fine with this dream.

Lir perched on a rock an arm around his beloved Amalthea as they watched the little girl pet the unicorns. Cupcake couldn't prevent the startled gasp from escaping her lips as one of them nudged her from behind, knocking her into the creature standing in front of her.

Lir tossed his head back and laughed, causing Cupcake to shoot him an annoyed look over her shoulder before returning her attention to the beautiful creatures. The man's laugh trailed on uncomfortably long, dipping lower and taking on a chilling edge.

Cupcake frowned, looking back at the man, who was now watching her from the shadowed edge of the forest, his eyes glowing an eerie yellow.

The sinister sound echoed through the trees, the air growing taught with tension and the light in the glade faded to a drab grey that hung in the glade like a veil of death. Amalthea was nowhere to be found.

Cupcake's hands, braced against her unicorn friend's side felt weird and she spun around, tugging at it in desperation. The side of the creature was sticky and her hand came away warm and wet, letting go with a disgusting sucking sound. Choking back a scream Cupcake scrambled back, eyes glued on the horrifying image of the pure white animal bleeding black goo.

She didn't get very far before her back slammed into another creature that screamed at the contact. The sound hurt her ears, and her hands automatically raised to block out the sound only to flinch when she came in contact with the goo coating her fingers.

Cupcake's heart was pounding as she spun around, tripping over her own feet and landing hard.

Towering over her stood a gaunt skeletal imitation of her favorite animal, completely black and baring a set of unnervingly long fangs that dipped out of the creature's mouth.

**_***rotg***_ **

The girl jolted from sleep with a strangled scream, wide terrified eyes darting around her dark room. The once calming safety of the familiar surroundings were twisted grotesque monsters that loomed out of the shadows as fear clung to her mind and clouded her thoughts.

The little girl groped in the dark, her fingers clamping around a soft plush leg. With a sob Cupcake drew her stuffed purple unicorn into her arms and curled up against the wall.

One thing stood out to her, ringing through her head like the tolling of a bell. Her nightlight wasn't working.

Sleep escaped her the rest of the night as she cried in a corner of her bed, not daring to move because she was afraid she would set off one of the monsters lurking just out of sight.

It wasn't until dawn crept back into the world that she was able to relax. Small rays of sunlight filtered into her room, banishing the fears of the night.

More confident now that she could see the whole room, Cupcake slipped from her bed and went to investigate her faulty nightlight.

The little pink unicorn hid a shattered light bulb, which confused the little girl. Before she could clean up the glass, her mother pocked her head in the door. She blinked, looking surprised that her daughter was already out of bed. "Hurry and get dressed sweetie, you still have time for breakfast before school and I made pancakes." She chirped, obviously proud of herself and practically bursting with energy. She started to close the door only to pause at the last second, "And don't play with that, cupcake, it's dangerous."

The door closed and she could hear her mom's voice yelling down the hall, "Honey! You need to change the bulb in that nightlight again."

Cupcake sent one more concerned look at said nightlight before turning to get ready for school.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw something small and black skitter under her bed. Dropping her shirt, Cupcake crept closer to the suspicious spot, her heart in her throat. When she got closer she could hear something scraping against the wooden floor, just out of sight.

She swallowed thickly, fear clawing in her chest, but she brushed it aside as she locked eyes with her stuffed toy, which was watching bravely from her pillow. She took courage from that steady gaze and crouched in front of her bed. She was shaking slightly as she reached out and lifted the blanket and bent down to peer into the darkness.

Wary eyes scanned the space, flitting over abandoned toys and bundles of forgotten clothes until she found herself staring into narrowed yellow eyes, exactly like the ones from her dream.

Cupcake gasped, dropping the blanket and scrambling away, her mind reeling through images of black goo and gaunt skeletal forms and sharp pointy teeth.

The blanket moved.

Rippled and bulged as whatever was under there tried to get out. To reach for her.

Cupcake grabbed the closest object she could reach, raising it above her head as the monster under the bed surged forwards and finally broke free.

Cupcake bellowed a war cry and launched her weapon as hard as she could.

A small black cat shrieked and scrambled away, hissing when the Barbie flew passed it and slid under the blanket and out of sight.

Cupcake sagged in relief as her pet shot her a dirty look and trotted out the window with her tail held high and proud.

**_***rotg***_ **

The rest of the day passed in a blur. Cupcake wasn't really in the mood to play, too busy jumping at shadows.

Jamie, naturally, took notice but he waited until after school to ask her about it. "Are you okay?" He asked as they walked home, the rest of their friends had run ahead of them and it gave them a bit of privacy to talk, "You're not acting like yourself."

Cupcake shrugged, eyeing a dark alleyway nervously, "Nightmare." She said simply, but it was more then enough of an explanation for the boy.

Jamie's expression hardened, "Do you think it has something to do with Pitch?" He asked suspiciously.

Cupcake shrugged again. It was a nightmare, didn't they all involve Pitch? But on the other hand, it had felt…different. Ominous, and it hadn't faded as the day went on, it stayed fresh in her mind as if she had only just woken up.

Jamie touched her arm, pulling her out of her thoughts. She glanced back at him, finding he had come to a stop and was now staring at her with concerned hazel eyes. "Maybe you should go see Jack. If this is about Pitch then he needs to know. Maybe he can help."

It wasn't a bad suggestion, but Cupcake really didn't want to go into the forest alone. Something of her thoughts must have shown on her face because Jamie smiled in sympathy.

Cupcake hadn't had to explain her nightmare, he seemed to understand anyway. "It'll be alright, Cupcake. I can go with you if you want." He offered and that was more then enough to chase away the last of Cupcakes fear.

"Thanks." She said, smiling in relief as they sped up to catch up with their friends.

**_***rotg***_ **

They didn't get the chance to go see Jack that day, nor the next and every night Cupcake had another nightmare, each worse then the night before. Her parent's were baffled by the nightlight that shattered every night despite the new bulb they put in every morning.

Cupcake was a jittery mess by the time Jamie showed up on her doorstep Saturday morning.

Her mother popped her head around the corner, as if knowing she was leaving. "Don't forget your coat, sweetie. It's getting cold out there and I don't want you getting sick." She warned before disappearing back inside.

Cupcake obediently grabbed a jacket and followed her friend out the door. Her father was in the driveway fiddling with the car, he looked up as they passed, "Have fun, cupcake. Be back before sundown."

Cupcake had no intentions of staying out that long, not wanting to be outside when darkness crept over the town.

The two children found Jack at his lake, lounging on the rocky shore and watching Wind chase red and gold leaves around his lake.

The minute the eternal teen saw two of his favorite kids he leapt to his feet with a broad smile. "Hey guys. What are you doing out here? I thought you'd be playing ball with the others." When they got close enough that Jack could see Cupcake more clearly he crouched down in front of her, concern etched onto his face. "You alright, kiddo? You don't look so good." He reached out to rest a hand on her shoulder, only to pull back at the last second his hand curling into a fist.

The little girl didn't notice and Jamie chose not to mention it, this was about Cupcake. "That's why we're here." He said, bringing Jack's bright blue eyes to rest on him briefly before turning back to Cupcake, who was trembling slightly.

Seeing the usually tough girl so shaken was definitely a cause for concern and Jack was determined to get to the bottom of things.

Cupcake seemed to fight with herself before she was able to tell him what was wrong, "I've been having Nightmares." She said softly, looking as if every ounce of courage that made up the girl had been sucked right out of her with those heavy words.

Jack frowned slightly at the admission as he led the girl over to a rock, gesturing for her to take a seat. Cupcake did, feeling as if her legs had given out completely and weren't able to hold her up.

Jack settled back down in front of her, prompting her to look up at him. He smiled sweetly at her when their eyes met, "They're just bad dreams." He told her in an echo of his words to Jamie in their fight against Pitch. Jamie recognized them as well, if the way he started at the words was any indication, "They can't hurt you."

Cupcake didn't look all that convinced, her mind flashing back to the cruel echoing laugh and the sinister feeling that seemed to seep out of every corner of her room. But this was Jack. She trusted him.

The teen stared at her for a few minutes as he thought, before nodding his head to himself, "Like I said, they're just bad dreams, but I'll talk to Sandy. See if he can get rid of them for you, okay?"

Relief flooded Cupcake at Jack's words and she felt much safer. Jack would never let anything bad happen to her, so she had nothing to worry about.

"Now, why don't you go play with your friends, and I'll go find Sandy right now." Jack watched the two kids disappear before taking off to find his fellow Guardian, a worried frown on his elfin face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special Thanks to Willow Lark and sparklehannah for your wonderful reviews.
> 
> Hey guys, how did you like it? So, there are a couple little Easter Eggs in this chapter and I'm wondering if anyone was able to pick them out. Please feel free to let me know what you think, and don't forget to go check out my beta, FandomAffairs. See you all next chapter.
> 
> Review!


	3. Chapter III

Cupcake tried her hardest to wait up for Sandy's visit, but after playing hard all day it made it difficult. She sat on her bed, clutching her fluffy Twilight Sparkle toy to her chest, and stared into the darkness of her room.

Her father said he'd fixed her nightlight, but as soon as darkness fell she heard a soft 'pop' and the light tinkling of glass falling to the floor.

As the sun sank out of sight and shadows engulfed her room, dread began to stir in her heart.

"They're just bad dreams." She reminded herself in a whisper, "Just bad dreams, they can't hurt me. They can't." She chanted this to herself, but she was having a hard time believing it without Jack there. The threat of her nightmares hung over her in the dark of the night just waiting for her to loose the battle with her sleepy eyes.

Her eyelids were heavy, fluttering shut one moment, only to snap open the next. Her eyes would dart around the room frantically, what was that shape? Was it there before? She didn't recognize it. Was that shadow getting closer?

Something blinked at her.

She swallowed, clutching the baseball bat laying beside her on the bed, her knuckles going white with how tight she was gripping it.

She was a tense bundle of nerves when her eyes closed for the last time and she slipped into Morpheus' arms under the eager eyes of a tall dark form standing at the foot of her bed staring at her from a bone white face, a shark-like grin spreading his lip-less mouth.

The Nightmare King traced a long finger down her soft cheek before vanishing into a wisp of smoke in order to more easily slip into the girl's dreams.

_*****ROTG***** _

Jack's lake was the safest place any child in Burgess would ever set foot. It was late evening already, but Cupcake didn't want to leave, even with Jack not there it was a comforting place to be.

The sun was dancing one last waltz over the mirror surface of the lake when a beautiful white figure stepped out of the trees.

Cupcake watched with breathless delight as her favorite animal approached the lake to quench his thirst. His coat was a beautiful pearly white, with a shimmering curtain of gossamer tresses the likes of which she'd only ever seen on Jack's head, waving lazily in the light wind. Behind the majestic figure she could see a long ivory lions tail flicking gently from side to side, but the thing that truly caught the girl's attention was the long gleaming diamond spiral that arched upwards from between the ethereal creature's delicate ears.

While the beast was distracted by the water, Cupcake slowly started to inch forwards. It took a lot of patience, but finally Cupcake was close enough to press a hand against the unicorn's strong ribs.

The creature didn't react to her touch except to peer back at him from one large glowing golden eye.

Slowly the girl began to stroke up the creature's side, drawing gentle circles into his soft pelt. After a while of this, the unicorn shook out his mane snorting loudly making Cupcake giggle as she stepped away. Thinking her time was up she dropped her hands back to her sides and just stared at the unicorn longingly.

To her surprise, the huge creature paced back a few steps before dropping forward onto one folded knee in a clear invitation to the young girl.

Cupcake squealed and darted forward, eagerly climbing onto the unicorn's back for a ride.

The moment she was seated she could tell that something was not right, it was almost like she was sinking, or the unicorn was melting. With her heart in her throat she tried to lift her hand from the creature's neck only to watch it pull away with a gooey gray slime that clung to her hand better then any glue. She struggled to pull loose, but the slime was stronger, yanking her hand back into place on the beast's neck.

"Ugh." She groaned, instantly shifting to dismount, but the creature jolted upright, back onto his feet and startling a shriek from the young girl as she was jostled roughly from side to side.

The creature reared back and Cupcake should have slid right off it's back…it was even more frightening when she didn't.

As soon as those huge black hooves slammed into the ground the beast leapt forwards, dragging the struggling little girl into the depths of the lake. The place where the once-unicorn touched the water an inky black cloud spread out until Cupcake was waist deep in the black murk.

Cupcake sucked in a breath to scream Jack's name, only to snap her mouth shut as the water engulfed her completely, the thick cloying liquid was warm against her skin sent shudders running through her body.

She felt like she was swimming in a pool of fresh black blood, and it wasn't long until her lungs were burning and just when she felt she couldn't hold on any longer a figure loomed in front of her, a black shadow against the murky darkness. A familiar face melted out of the gloom, thin lips stretched in a horrifying grin.

Everything happened in a flash. Cupcake screamed, the sound lost in the smothering pressure of the water; and something gleamed oddly in the pitch black followed by a sharp pain.

That twisted grin was the last thing she saw as the black of her surroundings seeped across her vision and swallowed her whole.

_*****ROTG***** _

Sandy wasn't able to visit Cupcake until the early morning hours. Jack hadn't located him as easily as he'd hoped, finally tracking him down on the other side of the world.

Floating through the open window and landing next to the pink frilly bed, Sandy was busy running through what dreams he could gift the girl and so didn't immediately take note of the empty room.

It didn't take him long to figure it out when he reached out to the bed, which was empty save for a long baseball bat and a stuffed purple unicorn with a patch on it's plush behind.

Sandy didn't think much of it, it wasn't exactly unusual for a frightened child to craw into his or her parent's bed. He smiled at the thought, there was nothing like a parent's love to chase away bad dreams. It was stronger, even, then his Dream Sand. She was in good hands and wouldn't be needing his help after all.

The Sandman shrugged and headed back into the night to finish his rounds, neither him, nor Mim noticing the dark figure standing in the shadows watching with a cold detachment. A motionless mass lay by his feet, covered partially by the ends of his robes.

Once the Guardian was out of sight the figure and the form on the ground smiled a sinister, shark-like smile, and vanished like water vapor on a hot summer night, leaving no trace of them behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...so that was fun...I hope you enjoyed the chapter, please let me know what you think.  
>  A special thanks goes out to my beta, Fandom Affairs,   
> And to all my readers, you guys are awesome.
> 
> Review!


	4. Chapter IV

Jack was racing down the tunnels towards the Warren at a breakneck speed. Boredom urged him on, it was the main reason he was heading underground in the first place. He much preferred the endless freedom of the open sky, but needs must and all that.

Entering the Warren never ceased to amaze him, he was always curious about just how different Bunny's home was from the outside world. The Warren was always so warm and bright, sunlight bathing the vibrant green grass, even though it should be impossible.

Topside was a vastly different sight, although no less breathtaking. Autumn had taken, painting the world in red, yellow, and orange in a beautiful imitation of a rising sun.

He had just found Bunny when the pain hit. It felt like someone had reached inside him and gripped his soul with poison tipped talons. The venom seared through him, pulsing agonizingly with every beat of his heart as those talons clawed into him, ripping and tearing at him until it managed to wrench a piece of his soul, his Center, out of him.

Jack gasped, his world going black and in that split second of nothingness he lost control of his powers. Ice lanced out in all directions and the Warren was promptly experiencing it's very first blizzard.

Drained and dazed Jack dropped from the sky like a stone.

Bunny watched all this in shock, unable to do anything to stop it. But when Jack dropped from the sky, Bunny launched into action. "Crickey!" He huffed, eyes wide. He wasted no time, dashing into the eye of the storm and leaping after the limp figure plummeting towards the ground.

He caught the boy before he could hit the ground, and clutched the kid close to his chest as he headed towards the nearest Burrow to get out of the storm.

Jack was out and shivering violently when Aster moved to lay him down. The pooka had never seen Jack shiver before, it was practically against he winter spirit's nature. It was wrong. It was worrisome.

And Bunny had no idea how to deal with it, so he did what he could, grabbing an extra blanket and wrapping it around the boy. Then he set a kettle on the fire as he let his mind wander-racing through his knowledge of herbs to find something that might help the situation. Chamomile or Lavender maybe? To calm him down.

He was just pouring the tea into a couple teacups when Jack jerked upright with a harsh gasp.

Aster was by his side in the blink of an eye, "Ya alright ther', mate? That was quite tha tumble ye took." But Jack didn't seem to hear him. He seemed barely aware of the pooka's presence. Jack was clutching at his chest, curled in on himself, and his eyes were screwed shut.

He looked like he was in pain.

Alarmed, Aster started checking the boy for injuries, had he missed something in his rush to get them out of the cold? "Are ya injured? Tell me where ya hurt, Jackie. Did ya hit yer head when ya fell?" He demanded, sifting carefully through the boy's moonlight hair in search of blood.

He was derailed from that train of though when Jack gazed up at him from between the pooka's large paws, his eyes huge empty pools of hurt.

"Bunny." He said, his voice dazed and Aster was positive he must have hit his head now, "Bunny. It's gone."

Aster pulled back slowly, his ears lying flat to his skull. "What's missin' Jack?" He asked, his eyes scanning over the boy. "Is it yer staff? Ah think ya dropped it." Aster glanced at the door and shuddered. He really didn't want to go out into that mess, but he would if it would help Jack.

Before he could head out, one of Jack's small hands sank into Aster's fur, his hand clenching into a fist, and Aster could feel some of his fur tugging painfully in his hand. He ignored it, especially when Jack started speaking again, "Gone. It's gone." He repeated over and over, and Aster suspected he might be in shock.

Bunny carefully extracted the boy's fingers from his fur and gently guided him to lay back down. Jack easily curled into a tight little ball and whimpered quietly.

The pooka brushed a paw through the boy's wind-swept hair. "Be righ' back wit yer staff, mate. Just rest some." He murmured, but once again Jack seemed oblivious to his presence.

Aster tucked the blanket up under Jack's chin and headed out into the storm.

If Jack hadn't been so obviously out of it, Aster would have been pissed. But this obviously wasn't an intentional storm. He couldn't blame the kid for loosing control. They would have to work on it when this whole thing blew over.

He had no idea if he'd be able to salvage his Warren, or if he would have to start fresh. Aster didn't mind either way.

It took a bit of digging before Aster was able to find Jack's staff. He was alarmed that instead of finding one long, frosty shepherd's crook, he found two separate, jagged ended sticks.

He carefully gathered the pieces up, not wanting to further damage the staff. He wasn't sure how he was going to fix it, but it certainly explained the weather.

Jack was still curled up when Aster returned and he didn't even stir until Aster placed the broken staff in the nest with the boy.

Blue eyes locked onto his staff and he sat up slowly. "Oh." He said dully.

Aster stood awkwardly by the nest while Jack continued to stare listlessly at his ruined staff.

"Ahm not sure how ta fix it, mate, but Ah'll think a' somthin'." Aster promised.

Jack blinked up at him when he spoke, before reaching out to pick up both ends. Looking intently at the sharp, splintered ends, he then slotted them together like two puzzle pieces and closed his eyes to concentrate.

Aster watched in awe as the two damaged ends flowed together, ice blue magic spider-webbed across the wood until it looked like nothing had ever been wrong with it.

Once that was done he carelessly dropped it into the nest next to him. That was when he turned large beseeching blue eyes, glistening with unshed tears, to Aster. "Gone. It's gone."

Green eyes snapped to the staff, then back to the winter Guardian's face.

"Why don' we go see North, yeah?" Aster suggested gently, but Jack just continued to stare at him blankly. Aster could feel his concern build with the boy's continued apathy.

When it was apparent that Jack wasn't going to do anything but lay there, Aster bent down and scooped the boy up into his arms.

He took a moment to open a tunnel, then he was racing towards North's workshop, a gaggle of eggs stampeding behind him with Jack's staff floating along on top of them like it was riding a wave.

It wasn't until they breached the surface at the Pole and Aster leapt into the freezing tundra, that Jack started to come back to himself.

Instead of pulling away, as Aster suspected he would, Jack buried his face in Aster's shoulder. Cold thin arms threaded around his neck and held on like he was Jack's only lifeline.

"Hurts." He mumbled into Aster's fur.

Aster tightened his hold at those words and sped up.

With Jack still clinging to him he couldn't simply open the door to North's Workshop upon arival, so he had to resort to banging against the closed door with one strong paw.

Aster was expecting one of the yeti's to let them in, and so was surprised when North pulled the door open. The big man took one look at them and ushered them into the nearest available room. "Vat iz wrong?" He demanded gruffly as Aster placed his charge down on a loveseat.

Jack looked up at North and said sadly, "Gone. It's gone."

Aster shook his head, plucking Jack's staff from the googies and setting it within Jack's reach, not that he seemed to care.

"Dunno, mate. E's been like this fer an hour now. Dropped outta' the sky righ' inta me Warren." Aster explained, his ears pressed against his head as he stared at the boy with open concern.

North nodded at him then knelt on the floor in front of Jack and placed a heavy hand on the boy's knee. "Jack." He began, voice gentle and soft as a teddy bear. "Jack, can you hear me?" When Jack looked at him, he nodded solemnly, "Gud, gud, Jack. Now, can you tell me vat iz wrong?"

"It's gone." Jack repeated.

"Gud job Jack. Now, vat iz gone?"

Jack blinked up at him, his expression a complete blank. "I don't know." The boy admitted, a frown slipping over his expression. Then Jack shook his head violently, "I don't know!" He gasped before going limp.

Aster didn't even have time to freak out before the boy lifted his head and gazed between the two of them in confusion. "North? Bunny? What's going on, where are-" He got a good look at his surroundings and changed his question, "Why are we at the Pole?"

This did nothing to assuage Aster's fear, only compounded it, "Ya took a bit of a tumble, mate. How'd ya feel?" Something was very wrong here, but he didn't know what exactly it was.

"I did?" Jack asked, sounding surprised, "I feel fine. No pain or nothing." Jack announced, bouncing to his feet and hefting his staff up to his over his shoulder with the ease of long practice. "It was really nice seeing you two, but I got a lake ta frost over, if you know what I mean." He winked and leapt out the open window.

Aster watched him go with narrowed eyes. That boy was lying through 'is teeth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, if you're at all interested in helping to support me that is a possibility now.  
> https://www.patreon.com/Sirenfox


	5. V

"Has anyone seen Cupcake?" Jamie asked as he glanced around his group of friends. He'd been a little late since Sophie had insisted on tagging alone, but he was there now.

Oddly enough, he didn't see Cupcake anywhere. Did she have another nightmare? Was she too afraid to come out? It didn't seem like something Cupcake would do…but Pitch was very scary so he didn't really blame her if that was the case.

The group of kid's were gathered around Jack's lake, though there was no sign of the Guardian anywhere.

"Haven't seen her since yesterday." Pippa admitted, wringing her hands nervously in front of her.

Worry clamped a fist around Jamie's heart, "I'm sure she's fine." He said upon seeing Pippa's face fall. He couldn't let anyone know how worried he was, it would only feed their fear, and he would not allow that. His protective streak reared up and he glanced around his friends with determined brown eyes. "Sandy paid her a visit last night so I'm sure she just slept in." Now that he thought about it, that did make sense. Especially since she'd been having bad dreams and hadn't been sleeping well at all.

Pippa didn't look completely convinced, but nodded slowly in agreement anyway.

"Well, if she slept in, we should go wake her up." Monty suggested, but when everyone's eyes fixed on him he shrank back and his shoulder's bunched up around his ears which were quickly turning red.

"That's not a bad idea, actually." Jamie admitted, plus it would give him an excuse to check on her.

"Yeah, she wouldn't want to miss the whole day, we have to go back to school tomorrow." Claude piped up. Behind the twins Jamie could see his sister jumping in a small pile of leaves, the girl had just discovered the particular joy of crunching leaves which was the main reason she had wanted to come along.

The rest of the group started to head back down the trail and Jamie was just getting ready to call his sister to his side when she froze, her whole body growing tense and her right blue eyes fixed on the trees across the lake.

Jamie followed her gaze, squinting across the glade to better see. A cold wind whistled through the trees, rattling the leaves and whipping Sophie's white-blonde hair around her head.

A darkness settled over their world, the shadows on the ground contorting grotesquely and even the trees seemed to reach out their spindly, skeletal hands towards the innocent little girl.

Jamie's heart stopped, his breath catching in his throat as the world seemed to slow down around him. "Sophie!" He tried to scream, but all that came out was a reedy gasp.

Sophie didn't appear to hear him, but he didn't let that stop him. He lurched forward and snatched his sister up into his arms and booked it, hurrying after his friend's. He could feel eyes watching him from the shadows, fixed on his back as he beat a hasty retreat, Sophie clutched close to his chest, clinging to his shirt and staring over his shoulder at the shadows looming behind them.

It took longer than Jamie had thought to catch up with the other's, they had somehow made it back to the edge of town in the few short seconds it had taken Jamie to collect his sister. It didn't make a lot of sense to Jamie, since that hike was at least ten minutes while running.

The impossibility of the matter slipped from his mind as the warm rays of sunlight wrapped around him in a warm gentle embrace, chasing away the cold tatters of his fear.

Sophie slowly uncurled and slipped back to her feet, but she kept a firm grip on Jamie's hand and didn't jump on one leaf their whole walk to Cupcake's house.

None of the other's noticed their late arrival, watching as the twin's shoved each other around playfully.

Burgess wasn't the biggest city in the world and it didn't take long before the children turned onto their friend's street.

All chatter died immediately and the children shared an alarmed glace before breaking into a run.

Parked in front of their friend's house were three police cars, one of which still had it's lights on.

Cops swarmed the place and as the children came closer Jamie could see Cupcake's parents through the kitchen window.

"-no sign of a break in." Jamie heard a female officer say as the group approached. It left a bad taste in his mouth and part of him didn't want to know what was happening. He knew it had to do with Cupcake, and it was bad. As North would say, he could feel it in his belly.

"Yeah." The man standing next to her agreed, "And nothing else was taken, no food or clothes, and her parents are certain no money is missing either."

Money? Clothes? What were they talking about?

The woman sighed, dragging a hand through her long dirty blond hair, "Right. So she didn't run away." She stated firmly, catching sight of the kids as they moved closer and she straightened up her face slipping into what Jamie could only describe as a mask. All her emotions seemed to vanish and she became another person.

Was that possible?

Jamie sent a look at the house, dread flowing through him like ice water. When it was clear no one else was going to talk, he pushed forward and asked, "What's going on? Is Cupcake alright?"

The second cop jerked around at the sound of his voice, "Cupcake? You mean the cat?" He started in confusion only to be elbowed in the side by his partner.

"The girl, you idiot." The woman told him sourly. Jamie thought the man must say stupid things like that a lot to earn the look she was sending his way. She schooled her expression before kneeling down to their height. "That's what we're here to find out. You are her friend's right?" Jamie nodded guardedly, "Have you noticed anything odd lately? Strangers hanging out around the house, or where you might go to play? Or maybe she said something to one of you?"

Jamie shared a look with his friends before answering, "She'd been having nightmares lately. We think _he's_ back, but Jack says it's not possible." They were adults, and police so they could help Jack fight Pitch.

Pippa stepped up next to him in support, "If _he_ took her, you're not going to be able to find her." She added softly, sadness creeping into her voice.

The policemen frowned, "Who's Jack? And if you know who took your friend you need to tell us." The woman pressed.

"Pitch. Pitch Black. The Boogieman, he took her." Pippa supplied helpfully.

At the title the adult's sighed. "This had nothing to do with Monsters, sweetie. There's no such think as the boogieman. The person who took your friend is just as human as you or I. Now what about this 'Jack'? Where can we get a hold of him?"

Jamie clamped his mouth shut the moment the officers said the Boogieman wasn't real, his lips forming a thin line as he glared up at the man angrily. Stupid adults.

Before he could say anything one of the twins spoke up, "Jack lives' out on the lake." This caused the adult's frowns to deepen and Jamie didn't like that at all. He sent his friend an annoyed look before looking back at the adults, "What are you going to do?" He asked curtly, not wanting Jack to get into trouble, and his friend's must share the thought because they are all nodding, watching the adults with shrewd expressions.

Not one of the children thought about Jack's invisibility, too upset that they got their friend into trouble.

"We just want to talk to him. That's all." Jamie could tell she was lying.

"He didn't to anything wrong!" He protested, fear creeping up inside him at the thought of loosing his best friend.

"I'm sure he didn't. Now why don't you all go play." The man suggested.

Jamie glared at him defiantly, but Pippa was tugging persistently at his arm and so he let her drag him away.

He shot a dirty look over his shoulder, watching as the two police officers climbed into their car.

"We should warn Jack." Claude announced, the twins were practically vibrating with tension.

"Can't." Jamie answered curtly, his friend's immediately began protesting loudly, "Look," Jamie cut them off, "Even if we tried, it wouldn't do any good. There's no way we could beat them there. Not even if we had our bikes."

The group descended into silence at his words, "Jamie's right." Pippa agreed at last, "Jack's a Guardian. He can take care of himself. But we do need to talk to him. Tell him about Cupcake so he can find her."

"Good idea." Jamie nodded only to have Monty interrupt him.

"He's not there."

Jamie frowned at his friend in confusion, "What?"

"Jack." Monty continued, "H-he's not at the lake." He stuttered briefly when everyone looked at him.

Now that he mentioned it, Jamie remembered Jack's absence earlier. Relief washed over him in a tidal wave and he grinned broadly at Monty, "That's right!" He crowed cheerfully, "He wasn't there, so they wont find him. Let's not worry about it for now. We'll talk to him about Cupcake tomorrow."

Jamie wanted to talk to him now, Cupcake could be in danger! But there wasn't much they could do before Jack came back.

Having a plan seemed to put the others at ease because they all relaxed around him.

A tug on his hand reminded him that Sophie had been there the whole time. A knot tightened in his gut as he looked into her wide tear filled blue eyes.

"I'm hungry." She told him innocently and that knot unfurled.

"I don't really feel like playing anyway." Pippa piped up, "I'll see you all tomorrow out at the lake."

Jamie didn't really feel like playing either, not without Cupcake. So everyone split up and headed home. Jamie casting one last worried look back at his missing friend's house.

_*****ROTG***** _

Caleb and Claude lay awake late into the night, Claude always slept in the top bunk and Caleb wished -for the first time since they got the bunk beds -that they were on the same level.

"Do you think Pitch actually took Cupcake?" He asked the mattress above him.

The silence was smothering in the dark room, but his brother answered in an equally soft voice the sound almost getting swallowed up by the quiet, "Where else would she go?"

Another stretch of silence before Claude asked, "Do you think Jack and the others will be able to find her?" His voice trembled slightly, but Caleb pretended he hadn't noticed.

"Of course, they're the Guardians. That's what they _do_." He answered with as much surety as he could muster.

Silence.

It was his turn now, eyes darting to a dark corner of the room before scurrying away. He swallowed hard before tentatively asking the question neither boy wanted answered.

"Why isn't the nightlight on?"


	6. VI

Sleep snuck up on the twins, but Caleb's subconscious didn't gently lead him into the Nightmare. One minute he was in his bed talking to his brother and the next he was tumbling head over feet into pitch black water with no idea which way was up.

He spun, suspended in that vast void for an eternity before he became aware of another presence. Instead of feeling relief, fear gripped him as something long and slimy wrapped around his ankle. He kicked out, trying to break free, but the thing only tightened it's hold. Slowly it started to pull at him, dragging him slowly down.

Down.

Down.

Until his back connected with stone and he was left gasping for air, the thick sticky water disappearing in the blink of an eye. The darkness didn't go with it, it clung to the area he now found himself, blocking out any shapes he might, otherwise, have been able to make out.

As he lay there gasping, the sound of footsteps echoed in the void around him. They were slow and almost light sounding and they were getting louder.

Was someone there with him?

Instead of calling out for help every instinct in him was screaming at him to run, but he was locked in place frozen in fear. And even if he wasn't, that thing that had grabbed him earlier was still wrapped firmly around his leg, a slimy leash that wasn't about to let him escape.

It seemed like forever that he lay there, listening to the slow approach of the other being.

He blinked and some of the darkness seemed to recede. He could just make out someone standing over him, shrouded in shadows. The figure slowly knelt down and Caleb knew that menacing grin.

He wanted so desperately to pull away, run -wake up- but he couldn't. Fear kept him locked in place utterly defenseless as that dark figure drew his arm up. Something glinted unnaturally in the darkness.

_*****nightmare***** _

Claude was surprised when the morning Sun filtered in through the window causing him to flinch away and bury his face under his window.

"Close the window Caleb. It's too early." He whined, waiting for the sound of his brother struggling out of bed below him. He always waited for the other boy to close the drapes before he got up to get ready for school.

"Come on, Caleb, this isn't funny." He complained when his brother made no move to get up.

Caleb just kept ignoring him, so Claude did what any self respecting ten year old would do. He shimmied over to the edge of his bed and stuck his head down to spy on his lazy brother.

"Wake up already, Caleb." He growled, before blinking in confusion, "Caleb?" He bolted upright and slid over the edge, landing in a crouch next to his brother's empty bed. "Caleb!"

_*****nightmare***** _

Jack was sitting in the center of his lake, the surface frozen solid, when Aster finally found him.

The boy's crook was laying on the ice in front of him and he was staring sightlessly at his own hands.

"Hey Frostbite." Aster soothed in as gentle of a voice as he could muster. He stopped just short of the staff and crouched down to the boy's height. That was when Aster noticed the tears.

Huge glistening drops slid over the boy's cheeks and dashed against the ice creating little bursts of frost over the slick surface.

"Hey, hey." Aster cooed, brushing the boy's tears away with a furry paw. He had known that something was off when Jack had run away earlier. "Don't cry, we'll figure this out, ah promise."

"I don't know what's wrong." Jack confessed, "It feels like someone is ripping my core apart. It hurts." The boy kept his eyes averted, refusing to look directly at the other Guardian.

Before Aster could say anything to comfort the boy a sound caught his attention. His ears flicked on top of his head and he was instantly alert. He spun around and stood defensively in front of Jack, who didn't react at all.

Aster wasn't about to let whatever it was that was crashing through the trees anywhere near Jack, not when the kid was this out of sorts.

The sound grew louder, the culprit becoming more and more careless the closer they got to the clearing.

Aster raised his weapons, preparing to protect Jack with his life if need be.

Something small and distinctly human barreled out of the trees and Aster jerked as he stopped himself from launching a boomerang at the defenseless child plowing towards them.

"Claude?" Jack's voice came from around his midriff and Aster glanced down in surprise to see a white head of hair poking out from behind him.

The child didn't even pause at the edge of the lake, just kept running. His small bare feet pounded over the too-thin ice.

Aster heard Jack's sharp intake of breath and could feel the boy's whole body tense when a loud 'crack' deafened the pooka. Bunny didn't waste a moment, he threw Jack over his shoulder (getting whacked in the head by a flailing staff for his trouble) then he raced over the ice and snatched the child up in his remaining arm as he leapt off the ice.

The moment Jack's feet met the ground his staff and dropped to his knees next to the boy, his hands gripping the child's shoulders and he turned him this way and that to get a good look at him. "What were you thinking?!" He demanded, his hands flitting over the boy quickly as he continued to checked him for injuries, "Are you alright?"

Aster hovered nearby, ready to leap into action again at a moments notice.

"He took him! Jack, he _took_ him. He's gone. You have to get him back. That's what you do right? Please, bring him back." The boy sobbed, clinging to the youngest Guardian desperately. Jack looked up at Aster helplessly. The boy clearly had no idea what to do now, so Aster stepped up.

He knelt down next to the two boys and asked in a low voice, "Who?" That one word asked a plethora of questions and Claude peaked out at him through tear filled eyes, not letting his hold on Jack diminished in the least.

"Pitch. He took Caleb." The boy sniffled, "Just like he took Cupcake."

_*****nightmare***** _

Missing. Two of Jack's kid's were missing. How had they not noticed?

Panic and rage spun and battled inside the winter spirit as he and Bunny escorted the little boy home. "Don't worry. We'll find them." Jack had promised as both Guardian's scoured the twin's room for some sign of what had happened.

The room was clean. No nightmares, or black sand. No unnatural shadows lingering at the dark corners of the room.

The only thing out of place was the small scattering of glass under the shattered nightlight.

It was odd, but there was no sign of Pitch anywhere.

Cupcake's room was not much different, only draped in an excessive amount of pink.

Their next step was to go visit Sandy, who was hard at work on the other side of the planet.

Aster opened a tunnel and it wasn't long before they were calling the Star Pilot down.

Sandy landed with a cheery wave and a baffled expression.

"Sorry ta bother ya, mate." Aster started, "But could ya locate Cupcake an' Caleb fer us?"

Sandy fingered off a quick salute before conjuring up a couple greyhounds out of glittering golden sand. They sat at his feet and stared up at him expectantly as they waited for instructions.

Sandy frowned, waving them away with a silent command..

The dogs leapt to their feet (Startling Aster into drawing his boomerangs by their quick movements) then they were bounding into the air.

The group watched as the hounds froze mid air and just hung there, glancing at each other then turning in a tight circle as if confused. The two sand creatures slowly sank to the ground and slunk back to a shocked Sandy's side with their head's ducked shamefully.

Aster's gaze flickered back to Sandy, who's eyes almost appeared to be popping out of his head.

Jack stared blankly before turning pale blue eyes up to Aster, "I don't understand." He admitted at length.

That couldn't be good, Jack was usually very quick on the uptake. Sandy wasn't paying them any attention, so that left it up to Aster to explain. His heart clenched painfully, but he ignored it. "It means Sandy can't find 'em, Jack. Wherever Pitch took em, it's out a' Sandy's reach."

Dark brows folded together and Jack turned his stormy eyes back to the Sandman. "I didn't know that was possible."

Aster huffed, his nose twitching, "It shouldn't be, mate. It shouldn't be."

Sandy finally looked up, idly waving the hounds away with a mindless gesture. The look in his eyes was fury. It was something Aster hadn't seen in Centuries, not even their last battle with Pitch had managed to rile the former Star Pilot up to this extent. At the sight, Aster could feel a similar reaction within him, setting his heart racing and his blood boiling.

A slow wicked smile spread over Aster's muzzle, "Ah say we pay Pitch a visit, befor' we head fer the Pole."

Sandy nodded curtly and Jack's grip on his staff tightened until his knuckles turned white as bleached bone.

_*****ROTG***** _

Something was very wrong and Monty was more then aware of it. Two of his friends had gone missing and it didn't take a genius to put two and two together to get the Boogieman.

Both Cupcake and Claude had vanished at night from their own beds.

Monty wasn't about to let that happen to him or his remaining friends, so he'd set about calling them all. Jamie's family was out so he had to leave a message.

They could not sleep in their bedrooms, that was how Pitch was getting to them.

That was why he was parked out there on the couch in the living room watching old cartoons and eating more junk food then he usually had in a whole month.

He could not go to sleep. He had to stay awake.

He couldn't sleep.

Couldn't…

It wasn't long before Monty's tiny snores filled the air that his parents walked into the room. His mother knelt down and tenderly brushed the hair behind his ears before sliding his glasses off. "You put him to bed and I'll clean this up." She suggested, sending her husband a worried look.

The man easily lifted his son into his arms and carried Monty back to his room to tuck him into bed. As he closed the door and turned out the light he didn't notice the nightlight next to Monty's bed sputter and dim before shattering completely, leaving the room in a blanket of twisting shadows.


	7. VII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: Character Death in this chapter. It's towards the end, so if that bothers you or you'd just like to skim over it it starts when they head to Jack's lake.

Pitch's lair felt empty. Abandoned. As if no one had walked those haunted halls for centuries, instead of the year or two since his last attempted coup.

It was obvious to all three of the Guardians that Pitch was not there, and neither were the two missing children.

"Nothin fer it mate." Aster announced when it became clear they were just wasting time. "Let's head back ta the Pole. North cen call Tooth an' we cen tackle this proper like."

Jack was reluctant to give up, but Bunny was right, this was getting them nowhere.

_*****ROTG***** _

No! No, this was wrong. It was all wrong. He wasn't supposed to fall asleep. He'd taken **precautions**.

Yet he knew that was exactly what had happened.

He'd slipped into a deep slumber. So he needed to wake up.

Pinching himself didn't help. Closing his eyes and trying to will himself awake was also a failure. He tried chanting to himself "wake up wake up wake up", but no.

It was no good.

He was well and truly caught. Like a fly in a spider's web, and soon Pitch would start playing with him like a cat with a mouse.

But Monty knew exactly what was going on and he refused to play Pitch's twisted games. He would sit down right here and he would not indulge the man's sadistic ego.

Before Monty could put that plan into action someone materialized behind him and shoved him to the ground.

Instinct had him catching himself on his hands, which screamed in pain. The jarring landing knocked his glasses off and he heard them clatter across the ground before sliding to a stop.

Ignoring the reverberating laughter that sounded around him - loud and cruel and oh so familiar, he scrambled forward completely blind as he patted the rocky ground for his illusive glasses.

A loud crack echoed around him, followed by a painful crunching noise.

Monty froze, his heart sinking as he slowly turned towards the sound.

Pitch was there, a tall black blob standing against a lighter black background. There were two other figures standing just behind him and to either side, but Monty couldn't quite make them out past the black blurs in his vision.

The boogieman started a slow stalk forwards and Monty scrambled to his feet, stumbling backwards in his haste to put distance between him and Pitch.

He trips up a staircase hidden behind him, turning and frantically racing to the top only to slam into the very man he was running from.

Monty flailed his arms, feeling himself tipping dangerously backwards. Pitch grinned and surged forwards, something gleaming wickedly in his hand.

Pain erupted from his chest moments before he lost his battle with gravity, plummeting into the black abyss yawning hungrily behind him.

_*****ROTG***** _

"Dere iz nothing 'ere." North stormed a short while later, pacing in front of the fire in his library. Tooth hovered helplessly nearby while Jack was curled up on a lounge with a cup of cocoa and a stack of books to peruse. Sandy had his own pile sitting on the table next to him, but he was just glaring at them as if they'd offended him deeply. Bunny was the only one still sorting though the texts on the nearest bookshelf.

North drummed his fingers impatiently on the mantle, his thinking face on.

"Shouldn't we go protect the children?" Tooth asked, glancing towards the door, her whole body thrumming with worry. The hum of her wings was loud against the occasional crackle of the fire.

Bunny huffed in irritation, but turned to face the rest of them, snapping his current book shut. "Tooth's right. With two a' the kid's gone missin' somethin's definitely wrong." He cast a look back at the door as well, his jaw clenching with his next words, "'Side's that, both 'a their lights 're out."

He could see Jack flinch out of the corner of his eye, and instantly wished he'd not said a word. He didn't need to make Jack feel worse then he already was.

"Iz alright, Jack." North said, obviously having seen the flinch as well. "Ve, vill find dem, but fer now ve must protect others from same fate."

Jack shuddered but nodded. "Caleb was the last to disappear. We can't let Pitch anywhere near Claude."

"An we wont, nothin'll happen ta the lil' ankle biter. Not wit us there." Aster reassured him. Not one of the Guardians even thought about splitting up, so sure that Pitch would return for a second time. It wasn't until after Midnight that the Guardians realized their error.

Jack's soul wrenching scream had everyone on full alert and Claude jerking awake, staring around his room with fear and confusion.

"Jack?" Aster was at the kid's side before anyone else even had time to react. "Jack? What is it? 're ya alrigh'?" He carefully reached out and guided the boy's face to look up at him.

He was alarmed to see the boy's usually bright blue eyes were a dull blue-grey and overrun with tears.

When the boy didn't say anything else, Aster turned to the others. "We need ta check the rest 'a the Larkin's. Make sure they're a'right."

Their plans were cut off abruptly when Jack was up and floating towards the window. "Ey, Frostbite? Where ya goin'?" Aster asked, not unkindly, following the sprite across the room.

Jack paused, looking back at him from those unnervingly unnatural eyes, "Home." The boy answered in a broken voice, "I just wanna go home, Bunny."

Aster's heart broke at those familiar words and he reached out to pull the boy into a comforting embrace. He couldn't stop a shiver from racing down his spine at the contact. Jack was usually cool to the touch, a side effect of being a winter spirit, but it was nothing like _this._ Jack was radiating cold strong enough for Bunny to feel it through his fur coat.

This could not be good.

Jack seemed to melt at the touch, Aster firming his grip as he turned to address their friends. "Mee' us back a' ta' lake then." They all nodded their agreement so Aster tapped a foot on the floor opening a portal to Jack's lake, dragging Jack down the rabbit hole with him.

This was where everything went wrong, spiraling out of their control completely.

The minute they set foot on the lake shore, Aster knew something was off, though he could not pinpoint exactly what it was.

While Bunny was instantly on alert scanning the area for hints of an ambush, Jack started to drift listlessly down the lake's edge.

Bunny didn't say anything, trailing behind his troubled friend intent on watching over him.

As they walked, something in the distance caught both of their attention. Jack's footsteps faltered for a moment before his void voice asked, "Bunny, what is that?"

Aster settled a paw on the boy's shoulder to ground him, "Ah dunno, mate. But ah got a bad feelin' 'bout it."

They moved forwards together, Aster drawing out one of his boomerangs. The closer they drew to the form, it slowly got clearer and clearer, Bunny's heart dropped farther with every step forwards.

A sobbing gasp escaped Jack, the staff slipping from suddenly slack fingers. "No. No. Oh, Cupcake, no." The boy babbled, rushing forwards and dropping to his knees next to the pale child. He hovered there, hands hesitating inches away from the little girl, before gathering her into his arms and cradling her to his chest.

Aster stood beside him, a silent sentinel in the chilly dark of the early morning.

His heart broke at the sight of Jack, clinging to his lifeless Believer, but he couldn't let his guard down. Not with how they found her, propped up against a tree with a jagged hole in her chest and surrounded by black sand laid down in the shape of a snowflake.

Pitch's audacity sent a wave of furious energy racing through Aster very similar to that of one of his chocolates. He was still thinking of every painful way he could destroy the Boogieman when the rest of their group began to trickle in.

Tooth's horrified grasp drew Aster's attention and he looked up to find her with her delicate hands covering her mouth. The moment North stepped out of the portal she flung herself into his arms and hid her face in his massive chest.

North caught her with a surprised grunt, looking around quickly for what had upset her. His cornflower blue eyes filled with sorrow when they landed on Jack and Cupcake.

Sandy came last, a grim expression already on his face that didn't change when he caught sight of his grieving friends or Cupcake's lifeless form. He quickly explained what he'd found, or what he _hadn't found,_ at Monty's house.

Aster felt a growl of frustrated anger build up inside him as North cursed up a storm.

"We need 'elp." Aster finally admitted at last, and North nodded his agreement. Unfortunately Aster had no idea what to do next.

Luckily, Tooth had an idea of her own. "We should visit the Library. Maybe Katherine will have an idea of what's going on."

"Yeah, an' Nightlight'll definitely wan' ta 'elp figh' Pitch." Bunny agreed, tilting his head down to glance at Jack.

The boy was staring back at him blankly. He sighed heavily as Sandy moved forward, symbols flashing quickly over his head. Aster nodded and crouched down next to Jack. He spoke carefully, gentling his voice as he addressed the boy, "Sandy's going to take Cupcake home now, Jack. We need to get going now, so we can stop Pitch and get the other's back safely.

For a moment, it looked like he might fight them, but Sandy was able to lift Cupcake away, Jack slumping further into himself the moment Cupcake was removed from his arms.

Bunny helped Jack to his feet as Tooth explained further. "We wont leave the other children unprotected Jack. Sandy will be with them, but we need to hurry."

Jack stared at them for a long moment before nodding his assent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so don't forget this story was started when it was still Halloween, so it's not a happy story. If you would like some fluffy reading after this painful chapter please go check out some of my other stories. 
> 
> Review!


	8. VIII

The ride to the Library was tense, with Jack sitting listlessly in the seat of the sleigh. Aster kept a close eye on the kid, worried about his growing apathy and unconscious chill.

Tooth sat up front with North, her wings fluttering every time she glanced over one feathery shoulder at them.

Even when they rode into view of the elaborate palace Katherine and Nightlight called home Jack remained impassively unimpressed. Compared to the silent awe he had shown at the Warren his blank expression was, frankly, alarming.

Aster had to fight the urge to shake some emotion back into the kid, or hover worriedly over the boy's shoulder as they filed out of the sled and towards the library.

The building was a strangely beautiful sight made up of spiraling towers and strange twisting mechanisms. Even from the bottom most floor the Guardians could hear the gears in the upper levels turning and grinding together as they worked.

As they drew closer intricate detailed etchings and delicately carved frescoes could be seen over every inch of the building.

The large double doors that made up the entrance were also covered in unearthly mechanics that seemed closer to art then machinery. The egg shaped gears were a clear indicator to their maker.

Still Jack did not react and Aster had to bite back his mouthful of bitter disappointment.

Tearing his eyes from the youngest Guardian, Aster reached out to press on an egg shaped button. He watched dully as the door silently whirred to life and pulled apart to allow them entrance.

He couldn't even induce the usual professional pride finding one of his creations working so perfectly usually filled him with. He was just too troubled. About Jack, and about those lil' ankle bitters.

Walking into the spacious main entrance it was easily apparent that all the Guardians had a hand in creating such a magnificent place.

North's bold architecture was twined with Tooth's vibrant colors and delicate intricacies with long stretches of glass images made from the melted dreamsand, the pictures captured there constantly evolving. Nightlight and Mim had worked together to make the softly glowing chandelier and everything was woven amongst Aster's alien technology.

But the most magical touch belonged to Katherine, everything was drenched in her stories. They hung in the air like fairies, whispering their words to the world, silent as only a library can be…unless you know _how_ to listen.

They had barely stepped foot in the library when a door leading somewhere whirred to life and a dazzling young woman burst into the room, flinging herself at a baffled North.

The man had no chance to return the embrace before the girl was on the move, tackling Tooth - who nearly dropped out of the air under her unexpected weight - then she'd spun around for her next hug.

Aster saw it coming, but he had no chance to intercept the excited girl. Katherine swept Jack into a tightly -familiar- embrace, tugging the stunned boy close.

Jack's reaction was instantaneous and very very bad.

He jerked back with a gasp, ripping himself away from the girl and stumbling backwards into Aster. A blast of frigid air exploded from the sprite's lithe form, coating everything and everyone in a thick layer of icy frost.

Katherine stumbled, blinking with confused hurt. "What? Nightli- you are not Nightlight." She accused once she got a proper look at the boy.

Aster too looked down at Jack, the drango was still backed up into him and all he could really see was the top of his white hair.

Even so he was able to perfectly picture the boy's face in his mind's eye. Odd, how had he never noticed Jack's similarities to his old friend before? Maybe it was the boy's penchant for mischief, or it could be how loud the kid normally was, but he had never made that connection.

Had he really not seen Nightlight in such a long time that he just hadn't seen it? That thought was distressing for a number of reasons.

Once Katherine realized her mistake she looked around again, shuddering slightly with cold, "Where is he? Did he stay behind? Is he with Sandy?" She seemed to deflate upon realizing that Nightlight was not with them.

Aster and North traded quick looks, "Is Nightlight not vith you?" North asked cautiously, "Ve have not seen de boy in long, long time."

The girl's brow furrowed at North's words, "Nightlight left a few nights ago." She informed them shortly, "He went to visit you. I don't understand. If he's not with you, then where is he?

But she did know, or at least suspected. She didn't want to acknowledge it.

Aster felt his heart flip and sink low as a heavy feeling of foreboding settled over the room.

Katherine's eyes skipped from Guardian to Guardian before settling on Jack, still backed into Aster and radiating a defensive icy shield, a hard edge shown in the usually gentle woman's stare.

Jack flinched under that accusatory glare and Aster couldn't help but place a reassuring paw on the kid's shoulder.

Before anyone could say another word, Katherine whirled around and vanished deeper into the library.

If Aster expected Jack to relax with her departure he was wrong. Though the winter sprite pulled away, he never once lost the tense line of his shoulders or the defensive posture.

"Dis iz not good." North intoned. That was an understatement if Aster had ever heard one.

Missing children was bad enough, but they were just children, they couldn't protect themselves, especially against Pitch. But Nightlight, he was a Guardian. Had been for far longer than any of them. If he was indeed missing then things were worse than they had thought.

Instead of following Katherine or starting on the countless books waiting for them, the group decided their first order of business was to find out where Nightlight was.

The group clamored onto a large circular lift, though the smooth ease of the climb upwards brought Aster no pleasure. They piled off at the base of the highest tower, a stone staircase spiraled higher, carved directly into the side of the tower. And that was where they were going.

The room at the top of the tower had no walls, only six beautifully carved columns. And at the center was a large clear crystal plucked from one of the moon's many craters.

The Guardian's each took a point, Aster quietly guiding Jack to his place before moving onto his own. Together three of the four Guardian's began to chant "I believe. I believe. I believe."

Slowly a figure took shape in the middle of the crystal and the Guardians fell silent.

Next to him, Aster noted Jack's blank stare. This was Jack's first time seeing Mim face to face, but the boy had no reaction. No awe, or anger, or excitement. Nothing but a cool indifference.

They didn't even need to voice their questions, Mim's usually cheer filled boyish face was solemn and his buoyant curl drooped sadly. "I'm afraid I don't know what is happening. They are just…gone. Nightlight and the children both."

"Pitch iz up to no good tricks again." North grumbled, a frown creasing his brow and his hands clenching into fists.

Mim shook his head dejectedly, "I just don't know. I can't see anything, and Nightlight's moonbeam is completely silent."

"What of Jack?" Tooth asked hesitantly, casting a quick look at their youngest Guardian.

Mim's eyes also turned to the listless boy, "I'm afraid I do not have any answers to that question either. I have never seen anything like it before."

Aster grunted his displeasure with that answer, but it somehow didn't surprise him. Neither Aster nor Sandy knew what was going on and they were both older than Mim.

"No vorries!" North exclaimed suddenly, his voice so loud it caused the delicate moon crystal to quiver alarmingly. "Ve vill defeat Pitch, an' find our friends, as always."

Aster wished he had North's confidence, but he could feel his core trembling unpleasantly as Jack slipped further and further into hopelessness. There was absolutely nothing Aster could do to stop it.

_*****Nightmare***** _

The library was a massive structure with countless rooms, each filled to the brim with books from every corner of the world about anything anyone had even just thought about. The magic filling the library was immense and dizzying to contemplate.

There was no possible way for their meager group of four to even consider being able to cover all their options. Their chance of finding anything relevant in a reasonable timeframe was slim to none.

They needed Katherine's help, but she was nowhere to be found.

They didn't have time to wait her out while she came to grips with their most recent loss, though. Not with how quickly the children were disappearing. So Aster went to find Mr. Querty. If anyone could locate the Katherine it would be the former bookworm.

Mr. Querty must have sensed the urgency of the matter, simply nodding to Aster's message and disappearing among the books.

Now all they could do was wait.

_*****nightmare***** _

The kids didn't take the newest disappearance well and Sandy tried to keep them from finding out about Cupcake for as long as possible -they didn't need the additional horror of that revelation hovering over their heads. But there wasn't much he could do when their parents decided to sit them down and explain it to them.

The Bennett's returned from visiting their grandparents (the only reason Monty had been forced to leave a message), but they didn't have a chance to talk to any of their friends because there was a new curfew being enforced and every adult was on high alert.

It was lost on no one that a particular group was the target of these horrible crimes, but there were no leads on who could be behind it. Well, except for the Boogieman, but although the children were flat out telling them who was doing it, they never really believed them, and so it was left to Sandy to protect the Believers while the other Guardian's were gone.

Only the children knew how useless the police patrolling the streets were. And the only comfort they could find was in Sandman's presence hovering over their homes in constant vigilance.

Unfortunately there were three children and only one Sandy. He had no idea where Pitch was going to strike next, and on top of everything else Monty had left a message for everyone, a message that worried Sandy down to his core.

Somehow Pitch was using the children's own dreams as a weapon. The kids were to scared to sleep, and Sandy was nervous about forcing it on them but the children could not stay awake forever either- it just wasn't healthy.

Sandy was at a loss. He had no idea what to do in this situation, so he did the best he could by sending a stream of dream sand to watch over each of the children.

He would not let Pitch steal another child.

It was hours before any of the children fell asleep and Sandy was just starting to think Pitch wouldn't show up after all when he felt it.

One of his strands of sand coiled defensively, ready to strike out at something that should not be present in the little boy's bedroom. Sandy raced towards the Bennett's house as fast as he could fly.

Something moving in the yard below him caused him to drop like a rock, his whip slashing through the shadows.

Whatever was stalking the yard melted away from the attack, reforming seconds later with a broken, distorted giggle that almost seemed to echo through the shadows.

Something blinked in the dark and Sandy was soon staring into two wide, glassy white eyes.

That was not Pitch!

Reeling with confusion and panic Sandy stood frozen on the still green grass painted an inky black by the night as the figure glided towards him at a creeping pace.

A form quickly took shape, painfully familiar and heart-breakingly alien. But before he had even really processed the sight before him a terror filled shriek filled the air.

Sandy reacted instinctively, shooting towards' Sophie's open window. A frantic search of the room found it empty and the door slightly ajar.


	9. IX

Jamie had never seen Pitch's Lair in person, but Jack had not been shy in his describing every detail to the curious little boy. Which was probably why Jamie recognized his surroundings instantly.

He had no idea how he had gotten there, and his first thought was to leave. It wasn't safe. But just as the thought took form a sound from somewhere deeper in the catacombs shoot it from his mind.

"Sophie?" He gasped out loud, fear chasing a chill down his spine.

Had Pitch taken her as well? His mind flashed to Cupcake, remembering how his parents had explained what had happened to her soon after they got home the night before and he lurched forward -No! Not Sophie! She was still so little, so helpless. If Pitch had taken her then Jamie had to save her.

That was his job.

He was the big brother, he had to protect her. Find her. Save her.

Jamie dashed through corridor after corridor following the frightened sobbing that always seemed right around the next corner. It became apparent that he was in some sort of maze that had no sense of up or down and seemed to have no end.

Pitch was playing with him.

But Jamie didn't give up, couldn't give up. Not with Sophie crying just out of sight.

After what felt like forever Jamie finally reached the end, a black iron door with a thick ring of where a door handle should be.

The boy grabbed the ring with both hands and started to pull. The door was impossibly heavy, not wanting to move even an inch. But Jamie was in no mood to give up now.

Sophie was on the other side of the door, he was sure of it.

Pure stubborn youthful pride and determination gave him strength where he should have none and the door finally started to give.

It was slow going and Jamie could feel himself slipping, his hands sweaty on the iron bar, but it was finally open enough for a small body to slip inside.

Jamie dropped the ring, causing it to slam loudly against the door as he scrambled for the opening.

He barely made it inside before the heavy door swung shut behind him, banging loudly and startling him into stepping forward unconsciously Pitch! Jamie spun around so quickly his feet got tangled together and he ended up falling on his behind.

It was a false alarm, Pitch hadn't snuck in behind him and locked the door. It had just been too heavy to remain open on it's own.

He picked himself up and dusted himself off, staring around the chamber with wide brown eyes. The room was cavernous and mostly empty, shadows crawled around the walls and a single iron cage dangled from the ceiling.

"Sophie!" He cried in relief, darting across the floor. The cage was low hanging, brushing just above the ground and the bars were just far enough apart that he couldn't squeeze in and Sophie couldn't squeeze out.

Jamie slammed into the cage at a full run, fingers wrapping around the iron bars as he gazed eagerly at the figure curled up on the floor of the cave whimpering softly. "It's alright Sophie. I'll get you out of here." He promised, looking around to find some way of breaking her out of the cage.

The sound of his voice roused the huddled form and their head slowly lifted until Jamie found himself staring into his own pale, gaunt features.

Gasping in shock, Jamie spun around, intending to run as far and as fast as he could, but he wasn't fast enough. His doppelganger lashed out -quick as a snake- and snapped him around the wrist.

The thing's touch was freezing, and Jamie automatically started to struggle, wrenching against the chilling hold.

Another frigid hand grabbed his flailing arm and yanked him backwards. Jamie's head crashed into the bars of the cage sending sparks of pain through his skull and black spots to swim into his vision.

When he could see again someone new had stepped into the room.

Jamie, unable to do much else, bared his teeth at the man as threateningly as he could.

Pitch seemed to find his reaction downright amusing because he chuckled darkly. "This is just too easy." He crowed as he glided across the floor.

Jamie could only watch helplessly as Pitch closed the distance, something gleaming dangerously in his clenched fist.

_*****rotg***** _

When it became apparent that Katherine had no intention of showing up that night North announced that it was time for bed. "Der iz to many books, ve need Katherine's help." He said flatly, "Ve should sleep. Need to be fresh to fight Pitch."

He had a point. Aster would never admit it, of course, but what the man was saying made sense. Tooth seemed to agree with him, but made no move to leave.

Sleep was a good idea, but that didn't make it easy. Aster didn't want to leave Jack alone, not even for a minute. He was afraid something bad would happen the moment he did, or Jack could do something monumentally stupid, like going after Pitch alone.

With the way Jack was behaving at the moment there was no telling what he would do if left to his own devices.

Nightlight and the children were weighing heavily on his mind as well. How had none of them noticed Nightlight was missing? What kind of Guardians were they if they left Pitch to snatch kids away at his leisure?

And Cupcake. Poor sweet Cupcake. They hadn't really had time to mourn their young friend and they wouldn't anytime soon.

Pitch was too much of a threat to take any sort of break, necessary or not. And Jack was in no condition for any of this.

Even now he was just standing in front of a window staring up at the sky. The moon was glowing extra bright, as if Mim was trying to chase away any possible shadow in the entire world that Pitch could be hiding in.

It made Jack look like he was glowing, surrounded by the ethereal light.

"Jack?" North questioned hesitantly. "You should get some sleep too."

Jack didn't respond, just continued to stare listlessly into the night.

North sighed and shook his head. It was obvious to everyone that Jack would not be getting any rest that night.

Tooth glanced towards the door, her tiny hands wringing over each other in front of her, indecision plain in her bright magenta eyes.

Before the fairy queen could make up her mind Jack's voice drifted over to them. His words were spoken so softly even Aster's excellent Pookan hearing had to strain to pick it up. "Another one is gone."

Aster felt his heart sink, his paws clenching by his sides in a pointless urge to fight something.

Tooth fluttered closer, her wings humming was loud in the otherwise silent room. "D-do you…" She paused, obviously not sure she wanted an answer to her question. She asked anyway. "Do you know who it was?"

Aster winced. He really wished she had kept that question to herself. Jack had never known before so he likely wouldn't know now. And what good would it do to know which child had been stolen away this time? There wasn't anything they could do about it from here. They would just have to finish here as quickly as possible and deal with it when they got home.

To his surprise Jack did answer Tooth's question. His voice was as hollow as his eyes when he spoke, "Jamie."

Tooth gasped, her hands flicking up to cover her mouth.

Aster clenched his teeth and had to look away. He could feel the cold coming off of Jack from where he was standing over five feet away. Jagged spikes of frost were crawling up the window pane and Aster was struck by how different they were to the Guardian of Fun's usual playful designs.

He could see Jack slowly slipping away from them and it terrified him. What would happen when Jack lost complete control?

Aster didn't like to think about that question because usually when something like that happened the spirit's magic attacked them. It was a slow and painful way to die. Jack should not have to go through something like that.

There had to be a way to stop it- to fix it.

They desperately needed Katherine's help.

But that wasn't going to happen tonight so Aster decided he should try to get Jack to sleep. Even if it was only for a few minutes.

"Com'on Jackie. Time ta get some shut-eye." He hopped forward and put a paw on Jack's shoulder to help steer him from the room.

Surprisingly the boy went without a complaint. Sleep, though, would be a long time coming for any of them.

It was too bad Sandy had to stay behind.

_*****Sandy***** _

Sophie was hysterical, sobbing and wailing loudly. Sandy could hear her broken rambling from where he stood in her room. To the adults it may have sounded like she was babbling nonsensically, but Sandy recognized the word she kept repeating as a name.

Pitch.

She had watched Pitch take her brother. Sandy had failed both children.

Sandy hesitantly followed her broken wails out of the room and down the hall. Jamie's door hung wide open and inside Sandy found the small child clinging to her mother, who was shaking badly herself.

Sandy glanced towards the stairs where he could hear the father barking into a phone.

A handful of sand swirled around his fingers as Sandy floated into the room and gently touched the child's forehead.

Sophie's terrified sniffling trailed off as she slumped forwards in her mother's embrace, sound asleep.

Sandy stood watch over the frantic family as they called the police. The Bennett mother clutched the sleeping girl to her chest as if afraid she would vanish if she let go.

While his wife sobbed brokenly into Sophie's soft blond hair the father hung up the phone and returned to the room. He began pacing the room, his jaw clenched and eyes hard. He never strayed far from what remained of his family, his protective instincts in clear control.

It didn't take long before the house was swarming with police men and Sandy was pulled away from his Watch.

One of the little sand foxes he had patrolling the Burgess area darted into the room, chattering mutely at him.

Sandy's lips pulled into a taught line as he followed his creation to the open window. He paused on the threshold glancing back at his human charges. He didn't want to leave, what if Pitch came back?

A tug at his robes made him look down, the little fox had his tiny gold teeth buried in the bottom of Sandy's robes yanking on them insistently.

Sandy nodded in determination, motioning for the small creature to lead the way.

The fox yipped soundlessly again before darting forwards, Sandy floating after him.

When the sand creature did not head for any of the remaining children's homes Sandy felt a wave of relief that quickly turned into an avalanche of dread.

The fox was darting into the foreboding line of skeletal trees flanking the city.

Oh, please no. Not the lake.

Not again.

Despite the fear starting to creep into Sandy's heart he sped up, the fox matching him easily.

The trees finally parted, opening on a familiar dark lake, shadows laying thick and menacing over Jack's home.

Sandy scanned the area quickly, but didn't immediately see anything out of place.

The fox danced off to the side, prancing in little circles to get his maker's attention.

Once more Sandy followed his little companion. The moment he found the body's the fox dissipated into fine golden dust that drifted away on the wind.

Sorrow clawed at the Sandman's soul as he floated towards the still, lifeless forms.

Just like with Cupcake a black snowflake had been burnt into the ground where they lay. A careful examination of the body's revealed a similar black hole cut directly into the children's hearts. Thin inky veins webbed outwards from the ghastly wounds and Sandy had to look away.

He still didn't know what kind of weapon could cause that sort of reaction, but he put it out of his mind for the moment and eased a tendril of sand under each limp body, lifting them into the air.

It was time they were returned to their families.


	10. X

The pooka sat in a corner of the room watching every shadow with suspicion. He'd been this way for a while, sternly keeping watch while the winter spirit slept. It had taken a while but Jack had finally manage to fall into a fitful sleep, for which Aster was very grateful.

He could hear North pacing in the next room over, which didn't help with Aster's frayed nerves. There was a soft knock on the door, and Aster perking up at the sound. He was across the room in a matter of seconds, flinging the door open.

Katherine was standing on the other side, sorrowful yet determined. "I'm ready."

Aster cast a glance over his shoulder at the sleeping frost spirit. He was worried about leaving him alone, but if they could find a way to help him…

He knew he should wake Jack up, but he didn't want to. Restless or not, Jack was still resting. And Aster was loath to interrupt him.

He turned back to Katherine and nodded following her silently out of the room, carefully shutting the door behind him.

They collected North and Tooth as they walked, finally coming to a stop in Katherine's personal office.

It was a quaint room, with a large wooden desk pushed flush against the generous window where Aster could see Mim just sinking out of view in the cool morning light.

Aster made his way across the room to lean against the wall by the fireplace. He kept his eyes focused on the window and allowed North to explain what was happening.

"I've never heard of such a thing." Katherine admitted softly, concern shining brightly in her warm eyes.

"Do you think there's anything about it in one of your books?" Tooth asked anxiously.

"It's possible." Kathrine admitted hesitantly, "But if there is I've never come across it before."

"Ve have to try." North boomed, and Aster was, for once, in complete agreement.

"Yes, yes. Of course." Katherine agreed, shaking her head and running a hand through her long hair. ""Come along. If it's anywhere it'll be in the Locked Rooms."

Aster remembered very clearly creating the locks for those particular rooms. They were especially complicated and attuned so that only Katherine could open them.

The woman had gathered together every book and scroll, every scrap of knowledge that the Guardians and Mim deemed too dangerous and squirreled it all away in those impenetrable rooms.

Nervous excitement clenched around his heart as the locking mechanisms whirred to life and they were allowed inside.

If there was an explanation for what Pitch was planning, or even just a way to stop him and help the youngest Guardian, it would be in these rooms.

The air here was musty from disuse, and a dark film seemed to hang in the air. It was enough to get Aster's hackles to rise.

. North had placed a spell over the rooms when they were first created so that if the door were to close it could not be opened from the inside. It was a safeguard they put in place should someone with ill intent happened to weasel their way passed the locks.

They very deliberately left the door so it remained open as they walked among the bookshelves

They split up to search through the hidden tomes and it was about an hour before anyone spoke.

"I think I've found something." Tooth called from the front of the room. She was searching through the books a couple of feet in from the door.

The rest of the group wandered back over and Tooth handed a black tome with silver lettering scripted across the thick leather binding over to their book keeper.

Katherine held the book tentatively a strange look on her face, "I've never seen one before." She told them glancing up, confusion crinkling the skin between her brows. "This book was not here before."

Aster's heart sank as she opened the book. A heavy sort of anticipation hanging over the Guardians as they awaited news.

Katherine didn't need to read like everyone else. The books' spoke to her, whispering their tales directly into her mind. In a matter of seconds all color in her face drained away leaving her as pale as Jack.

Her eyes flickered over them, tears spilling down her cheeks.

Aster's instincts were screaming at him to 'Protect!' He quashed it down as he listened to her start her explanation.

"Pitch-he-I…" The girl took a deep breath to collect her thoughts and tried again. "Nightlight is indeed gone." She said at last, her face tipped down and her chestnut bangs hiding her eyes, but not the tears that dripped off he chin onto the pages of the book. "Pitch has found a way to corrupt a Guardian. He has stolen Nightlight's diamond dagger. He's twisted it to such an extent that when he uses it-when he kills-" She broke off again, the truth so horrifying she couldn't bear to speak it aloud.

Aster didn't want her to finish, didn't want to know, but she gathered herself again and finished her telling, "By using it on Jack's first Believers he is tearing Jack's soul apart."

That explained why the kid was loosing control of his magic. Jack's magic was tied directly into his soul, by ripping into Jack's very being this way Pitch could very effectively wrest control from Jack's hands.

"What's going to happen to Jack?" Tooth asked, fear leaking into her voice. "And can Pitch do this to all of us?"

"This is very limited magic, it can only be done if the Guardian has a smaller pool of Believers. You four are safe simply because there are just too many children who believe in you, but Jack…" Katherine looked away when she gave them their answer, "It will either destroy him, tearing him apart from the inside out as his magic turns on him. Or…" She took a shuddering breath, "Or it will drive him insane and Pitch will…Pitch will put him back together in the form of his Nightmare Prince."

"No!"

Aster jerked around at the screech, wide green eyes landing on the pale boy standing in the doorway. Katherine shrieked, dropping the horrible book to the floor as she too spun around.

How long had the larkin been standin' there? How had no one noticed he was behind them? Aster glanced quickly at North, who locked eyes with him for a split second sharing his bafflement and alarm.

Katherine stared at Jack in horror for a long moment before looking away, guilt and shame clear on her face.

Before anyone could say anything, Jack was gone, fleeing deeper into the library leaving a starburst of ice blocking their escape.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Okay, so a quick little note for anyone interested in reading it. I'm terribly sorry for the late update. The story is finished and all typed up. So it will be posted, but I do want to explain why it takes me so long sometimes.
> 
> I have PTSD and a Severe panic disorder. It's gotten so bad that I can't actually hold a job. Panic attacks make writing very difficult, so I'm really sorry for the long wait that are sometimes found in my stories. I'll try to do better and post the next chapter next week.
> 
> Please review and let me know what you think. I always love hearing all your theory's.
> 
> Foxy


	11. XI

It took a while before Aster was able to find the boy. Getting passed the wall of ice was a bit tricky since his tunnels didn't work inside the library. But he was determined and that made all the difference. Then he had to track the boy down and, with how many rooms there were in this particular building, it took a little while.

When he finally found the boy, Jack was curled up on a window seat in a random empty room staring out at the orange and red scenery.

Winter was just around the corner and Aster still had so much to do before Easter. But looking at that broken young boy, tear tracks on his cheeks and winter-mint eyes staring sightlessly outside, Aster couldn't find it in himself to care.

If Easter was a bit late this year he would deal with it. Jack was too important to ignore. If it wasn't for the winter spirit there wouldn't be an Easter anyway.

"We'll figure this ou', Jack." He said as he crossed to room to lean against the windowpane opposite of where the other Guardian was curled up.

Jack angrily wiped at his eyes, rubbing away any lingering trace of tears. "I can't do this Bunny." The boy confessed, "I feel it every time Pitch takes one of them. He's tearing me apart and there's nothing I can do to stop it. And as for my magic…" He cringed drawing into himself even more, "I'm only just holding it together. It feels like I'm trying to cage a dragon but I'm using spider silk as a net. It's not going to last and I don't want to be around anyone when it happens." He looked up at Aster with watery eyes, "I don't want to hurt you." He chocked out.

The kid looked like he wanted to say something else, and Aster could see that whatever it was on Jack's mind scared him. He could see it was eating away at him and Aster knew Jack needed to get it off his chest.

It took the Guardian of Fun a few minutes to pull together enough courage, and energy, for his next confession. "I don't want to be alone again. What if Pitch comes after me? I can't fight him. Not like this. But maybe if I give myself up Pitch will leave the kids alone. It's my fault this is happening, he's doing this to get to me."

Aster was at the boy's side in the blink of an eye, "Don' ya dare feel guilty 'bout this, Jack. This is Pitch's faul', don' ya go taken' credi' fer 'is crazy. Yer nau' the firs' 'un 'e's ever tried lurin' ta the dark side."

"Really?" Jack asked dubiously.

"Yeah, really." Aster agreed, ""e tried it on Nightlight, an' Mim, an, Katherine too. This is'nau' the firs' time we danced this dance an' we'll stop 'im now jus' like we did then." He pulled the younger Guardian into a quick hug, steadfastly ignoring the frost he could feel creeping over his fur. "We won' le' 'im ge' ya."

They met the others back at Katherine's study, though she refused to look anywhere near where Jack was standing. Not that the boy even seemed to notice, his icy eyes were focused with laser like precision on the book laying open on the desk.

Before North could start 'brainstorming' battle plans, Aster thought he had better get a bit of common sense flowing, "We should 'ead back ta Burgess befor' anything' else cen' 'appen." When North looked ready to argue Aster shot him down quickly and efficiently, "Katherine cen read on 'he way, then tell us 'he details when we get there. The kid's are our priority now, an' we're down ta two."

No one could fault that logic.

Unfortunately, even with magic it would still take a fair amount of time to travel the globe and that wasn't even including the time it takes to traverse the spirit realm, where Katherine's library was located.

The sun was already sinking below the tree line by the time they got back. Sandy met them at the lake, looking dreadfully solemn.

_*****rotg***** _

While the Guardians gathered around a book in the middle of a poorly frozen lake, Claude was laying miserably on the bottom bunk in his room.

He could hear his mom crying through the walls and he knew his dad had stormed off when…

Claude whimpered, curling around his twin's pillow and breathing in his scent.

Caleb wasn't dead. He couldn't be! Pitch had him locked in a cage somewhere. He had to get him back. He had to find him.

Jack promised he would bring him home. But he lied.

He wasn't even trying. He didn't care that Caleb was gone. So it was up to Claude to find his twin.

His mother's crying got louder and harder to ignore. But she was wrong! Caleb wasn't dead.

He wasn't dead!

He chocked on a sob, it felt like someone was trying to rip his heart out. He needed to scream. Could feel it building up in his chest and clawing up his throat in an attempt to suffocate him.

Tears blurred his eyes and he blinked furiously trying to get rid of them.

That was a mistake, his blinking caused one hopeless tear to break free and roll down his face. The dam broke and Claude began sobbing brokenly. He keened his brother's name and thrashed on the bed, his eyes clenched shut and a litany of 'no, no, no." spilled from his mouth.

He was still so painfully alone when he sobbed himself to sleep.

He knew immediately that he was asleep. He was still laying in Caleb's bed in their room, but he couldn't hear their mom crying anymore.

He also knew it wasn't like a normal dream. It was too real, and yet distorted and twisted around the edges.

Was this what had happened to everyone else? He didn't care, Caleb was gone. Nothing mattered anymore.

It wasn't long before the room started to fill with shadows and Claude just hugged Caleb's pillow tighter.

One inky figure peeled itself away from the rest and Claude bolted upright, eyes wide. "Caleb?" He gasped. It was his brother. He'd recognize him anywhere. Even if he was completely ink black and dripping in shadows.

The shade didn't say anything, just stared at him through dull silvery-gold eyes. Claude recognized the color, had seen it every night in the pale grey features of the boogieman.

Claude didn't care. That was Caleb! He wasn't dead. Claude had known it. He was right.

The expressionless black image of Caleb tilted his head and slowly extended his hand.

Claude didn't even hesitate. He flew out of bed and curled his fingers around his brother's bitingly cold counterparts.

It hurt, but Claude just tightened his grip. No way was he letting go anytime soon.

He refused to look away from his brother's face, not caring when they started to sink into the floor.

A couple moments later they materialized in a vast, craggy black cavern and standing in the middle of the room, in front of a jagged iron replica of the world was Pitch, fiendishly lit up by the garish orange lights on the globe.

He stood perfectly still as he watched the twins from across the room, his golden-white eyes shining with an excited hunger, were fixed on Claude. The boy could see an obsidian dagger with an eerie white glow clutched in the man's spindly fingers.

Understanding swept through the child, followed shortly by simple acceptance. He clutched his brother's cold dead hand tighter and together they walked towards their new Master. As they drew closer Claude could see a vicious silver-black liquid dripping from the tip of the dagger and pooling at Pitch's feet.

_*****rotg***** _

Jack collapsing was the first clue that something was wrong. He went down like a sack of googies, cracking his head against the ice with such force Aster swore it echoed sickeningly across the glade.

"Crickey!" He swore, jerking forward in a pointless attempt to catch the already fallen boy.

Sandy went next. He was holding onto a golden tether in one hand as they brainstormed, one solid yank from the other end sent him tumbling head over feet onto the frozen surface of the lake. Another persistent tug dragged him over the slick ground and towards where the town lay.

The little man leapt to his feet and gave one good hard yank of his own. His little thought bubbles blurred together in vexation.

Aster smirked at him, earning a glower from the older male before he explained what was going on back in town.

Aster snarled in anger himself and carefully lifted Jack into the sleigh, taking extra caution with the boy's head. "We need ta head ta Claude's house, an' check on Pippa." he explained to the others who were hovering worriedly nearby. He turned to Sandy, "Ya mind stickin' round ere an' keepin' an eye on Frostbite?" At Sandy's solemn nod he added, "If Pitch does try ta drop off another-" He couldn't say it, it was just to horrible, but the look on Sandy's face said he understood completely, so Aster felt no need to elaborate.

He quickly opened a tunnel to the twin's room, standing sentinel as Katherine, North, and Tooth all dropped down. He cast one last quick look around the moonlit lake Jack Frost called home, then followed after his friends.

Once left alone Sandy skipped to the edges of the frozen lake and started to patrol. Lions, wolves, foxes, and aardvarks started prowling around the tree line, their bright golden sand a stark difference to the shadowed forest.

Shortly after the other Guardian's left, something sinister settled over the lake. A latticework of shadows laced through the trees and stretched out above the ice to form a canopy that completely blotted out the moon.

Sandy cracked a sand-whip, gold eyes trailing over everything in sight with a cold clarity not many ever saw in the usually gentle man, before snapping to the center of the lake.

Where he had left Jack.

Unprotected.

Unconscious.

Shadows swarmed over the sleigh where the boy's defenseless body lay, like ants over breadcrumbs.

Sandy roared a battle cry, a large menacing symbol hovering over his head as he launched himself towards the milling shadow creatures shattering any he touched.

He landed on the sleigh, hovering over Jack's form defensively. They would not take him. Sandy would not allow it!

The sandman turned in a tight circle, his whips lashing out at anything that moved too close. His army of gold critters burst over the shapeless beings and started tearing apart everything in their path.

Sandy showed them no mercy, ruthlessly taking down any creature stupid enough to come within striking distance.

It wasn't until Sandy's whip wrapped around a familiar figure's fragile neck that the battle ground to a halt. The whip crumpled into dust as Sandy stared in shocked horror.

A slow cruel chuckle slid across the lake like a venomous snake just waiting to strike.

Sandy's head snapped up, locking with the silver-gold kaleidoscope of Pitch's narrow eyes.

The Nightmare King smirked, bowing to him mockingly before fading into the shadows.

Jack slowly regained consciousness, his head ached and he was so cold he was beginning to shiver. Blinking his eyes open he winced as the moon blinded him. He struggled to sit up, noticing Sandy standing on the back of the sleigh and looking like someone just kicked his puppy.

Following the Sandman's horrified eyes to the slowly vanishing black figures was all the explanation he needed.

He reached, automatically for his staff, faltering as he realized it was not next to him.

Instead of freaking out or scrambling to find it, or even asking Sandy where it was, Jack just stared blankly at the place it should have been.

As the last of Pitch's minion's faded from view Sandy turned to check on Jack.

He wasn't expecting the other Guardian to be up, much less just staring into space. Sandy frowned in concern, this wasn't like Jack at all.

He waved a hand in front of his face and Jack turned to look at him, his storm grey eyes sending chills through Sandy.

Everything about this was wrong. Unfortunately he had no idea what to do about it.

He cautiously motioned for Jack to follow him. He still needed to check and make sure Pitch hadn't left another…gift.

Jack climbed out of the sleigh, instantly locating his staff, and followed Sandy to the shore. Sandy kept a close eye on the boy, not liking how dangerously he was flying. He looked drunk, or seriously injured as he lagged close to the ground. He appeared unable to control his speed and veered off randomly.

When they reached the spot Pitch had been standing they found not one, but two bodies.

Sandy watched Jack avidly, uncertain how badly he would react to the discovery. The boy drifted over to them and sank down until he was kneeling beside the victims in the very center of the black snowflake Pitch had left like a grotesque calling card.

Jack tilted his head to look at Sandy, his eyes completely empty. Sandy was shocked by how doll-like he appeared in the moonlight. "We're not going to stop him Sandy." He said in an icy monotone, "We can't fight this. He's going to win."

The boy looked down, trailing a snow-white finger down Jamie's equally pale face. "Pitch is going to win."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that has to be one of the most painful chapters I've ever written. But on the plus side I updated within a week! And I hope to see you again next week, because this story is quickly drawing to a close. Roughly two more chapters left.


	12. XII

Aster felt it the moment Jack gave up. He stumbled, knocked off balance when the boy's Hope just winked out of existence. He had to brace himself against the wall in Claude's room, too disoriented to stand on his own.

North frowned back at him with concern, but Aster just waved him off. His mind was spinning with the consequences of Jack loosing faith.

Tooth and North scanned the room with sharp determination, and Katharine hung back by the doorway, almost hesitant to enter the room.

But Bunny was the one that found something out of place. His head was still spinning, so Aster had closed his eyes and lowered his head to make it stop. When he opened them again he found himself staring down at a dusting of splintered glass on the floor by his paws.

Frowning slight with concentration, Aster crouched down and sifted through the shards. His eyes moved up to the wall where a broken bulb still sat in the plug.

His heart skipped a beat, his mind shying away from the meaning of it.

A small pale hand moved into his line of sight and he looked up into the the closed off face of Katherine. There was a fine tremble in her jaw line and Aster wouldn't ever have noticed it if he hadn't had a pooka's exceptional eyesight.

"Nightlight." She whispered with so much heartache he felt the urge to draw her into a hug.

He didn't. He could feel it would not have been welcome.

"We need to check the other rooms." Aster announced, standing tall and drawing everyone's attention to him.

Tooth and North both glanced down at the glass and nodded.

Aster's suspicions were proven correct. Every single one of the children's rooms had a completely shattered nightlight, although they could find nothing else wrong. It wasn't much to go on, so they retreated back to the lake to regroup.

There they found the Sandman hovering over not one, but two dead bodies, staring out at the lake with a tight expression. Aster followed his gaze to see Jack sitting cross legged about a foot off the surface of the lake.

Even from that distance Aster could feel the void the boy had slipped into. It hung in the air, grey as a storm cloud and bone-chillingly cold.

He thought about going over there and trying to talk him out of his funk, but what good would that do? They didn't have a plan and there was only Pippa left.

For once, they were loosing.

The rest of the day passed in a blur of hushed voices interspersed with bouts of angry yelling. They stayed at the lake most of the day as they argued since Pippa had school and Pitch only seemed to strike late at night.

Sandy did keep one of his little sand foxes trailing her just in case something went wrong. They would be close enough should she have need of them.

She didn't. And the Guardian's, sans Jack, were free to yowl at each other to their hearts content.

"We should take her back to Pole." North boomed, his voice loud enough that even Jack looked up from where he was painting the lake with a dazzling mosaic of ice crystals. His misty grey eyes floated over the group now situated back in the sleigh with blank disinterest.

Aster huffed in irritation, North brought up this same solution three times already and he'd shot it down every time.

"She's safest with 'er parents, ya bloody pilock. We can't take 'er away from 'em. It would only make things worse." He grumbled, again, not at all liking the idea of kidnapping the last child.

Sandy rose to float by his shoulder, nodding his agreement.

North growled and started his pacing again, slipping just a bit when he hit a particularly slippery patch of ice. Aster didn't even laugh at him.

Neither did Jack.

North was obviously displeased with Aster's words, but he knew the pooka was right.

While the men were arguing over what to do about Pippa, Katherine and Tooth had been watching Jack, what they saw was cause for great concern.

He was paler than usual, the lively flush on his face giving way to a gaunt shadow of his former self. His eyes, too had changed. Cold and empty, as if someone had sapped all his emotions from his body leaving a blank shell behind.

His staff lay in a splintered mess on the ice below him and even still he was radiating cold. Worse than that, he was idly tracing patterns onto the lake, with his fingers.

Tooth didn't like to think it, but he was dangerous. If not to everyone around them, then certainly to himself. She glanced over at Katherine who was staring at the boy with narrowed eyes.

"What about Jack?" She asked, interrupting the men's posturing, her eyes moving back to Jack's figure, not looking away again, even when he locked those frigid orbs with hers.

A shiver ran down her spine, fluffing up her feathers uncomfortably. She could not tell if it was from the cold, or fear.

Aster glanced over at the question, "Wha'dya mean?" He mumbled guardedly, pushing himself up to appear more threatening. Tooth didn't think he was doing it on purpose and she felt her heart clench with how he was protecting the boy he'd spent so long hating.

She smiled tightly at Jack before fluttering closer to the older Guardians.

Jack didn't seem too concerned, just turning back to what he was doing. It was just so wrong, normally Jack would have jumped at the opportunity to be the center of attention.

Tooth was unwilling to voice her traitorous thoughts. But she didn't have to, Katherine was thinking the exact same thing., " Maybe we should hide Jack so Pitch can't find him." She suggested cautiously.

Aster eyes her dubiously, "Ah've never known Jack ta jus' si' back an' hide. E won' go fer it."

Tooth's lips clamped shut, unwilling to continue voicing her traitorous thought. But she didn't have to, Katherine was thinking the exact same thing and she had no qualms about speaking them. "What if Jack tries to go to Pitch? We should lock him in his room at the Pole. We can't let Pitch have him."

There's no way they'd be able to fight Pitch if he had Jack on his side. Jack was too strong, and Tooth doubted any of the other Guardians would be willing to fight Jack and risk hurting him. She knew she wouldn't.

Aster narrowed his eyes on the woman, "Jack is nau' a wild animal." He growled, "We're nau' goin' ta chain 'im up like a criminal." He was disappointed in Katherine…in both of them, that they would even suggest such a thing, even under the current circumstances.

He was especially disappointed in Tooth. It wasn't like her at all, especially with how fond she had always been of the boy.

Looking into the warrior queen's magenta eyes he could see how torn up she was. He sighed and patted her shoulder with a gentle smile, "Don' go givin' up on 'im, now. Jack's tougher than e' looks. Thar's no way he'll ever turn ta Pitch, 'Specially after wha' e's done ta the kids."

He could see a seed of hope blossom behind her eyes, felt it in his core. He nodded at her and stepped back.

Everything would be fine.

That feeling of hope didn't last long when Katherine added, "He might not have a choice."

Aster's head snapped in the girl's direction, eyes sparkling like emeralds, "What?" He hissed dangerously.

Katherine sighed and tapped her fingers on the book, not daring to look him in the eye, "It's possible he won't be able to fight it. By using…by using Nightlight's dagger on Jack's believers he's corrupting Jack's core. If it doesn't kill him outright, it will turn him."

"No!" North bellowed, "No. We won't let dis happen. We have one more Believer. If Pitch can't get her, he can't get Jack."

Aster's eyes locked on Jack, who he found staring back at him with an undecipherable expression.

A steely resolve settled over Aster and he knew they would do anything to keep the boy safe.

As he watched Jack, he was startled when the boy jolted into the air, looking more alert than Aster had seen him in days. Hard diamond orbs were staring off towards Burgess for a split second, then Jack was gone, bolting across the lake like his life depended on it.

One glance up at the Dark sky revealed that it just might.

"Crikey." Aster cursed, racing after the Guardian of fun. How had they lost track of time this badly?

Adrenaline raced through him as he chased down the spirit. Seconds later the sleigh pulled up next to him, slow enough for him to hope inside.

He straightened, his claws digging into the paint job as North whipped the reigns and the sleigh lurched forward.

By then Jack was out of sight and Aster could only Hope they would get to him in time.

**_***NM***_ **

Pippa lay in her dark room staring up at the ceiling in a sort of numb haze.

Everyone was gone. She was alone.

School had been painful, so many empty desks and even her teacher seemed to be at a loss. There were police men everywhere, but that was completely pointless. They couldn't protect anyone, not from Pitch.

She glanced over to the figure snoring in an old kitchen chair on the other side of the room. She knew there was another just outside her door, and downstairs, and in a patrol car parked across the street.

Everyone knew she was the next target, even the adults had realized someone was targeting her group of friend and that she was the last one left.

It was obvious that they thought they could stop it from happening again, thought they could protect her.

But how could they protect her against something they couldn't see? There was no way to guard her from someone they didn't even Believe in.

She knew what was going to happen tonight. There was no stopping it. No postponing it.

She was going to die.

Even the Guardians had given up and left her to her fate. There was no other possible reason for them to have left her alone. Not that it really surprised her, Jamie was the important one, the special one, and with him gone what was the point?

She closed her eyes briefly against the ache in her heart and when she opened them again she was staring into glimmering gold eyes.

A hand on her shoulder pulled her into a sitting position on the bed, her head rolled forward and she would see…

Oh…

That would explain the pain in her chest.

There was an ink black dagger sticking out of it.

She looked back up, the scenery had changed and she was no longer in her room, but out on a frozen lake. Her friends were all there, standing around her. Or at least what she thought were her friends. They looked like them, but were swathed in shadows, their flesh like charcoal and their eyes burning white embers.

The dream -when did she fall asleep?- tilted wildly to one side and she was sliding, falling- into the abyss.

Pippa closed her eyes and embraced the darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is painful. I'm glad you are enjoying reading it though, that makes this whole thing worth it.
> 
> Let me know your thoughts, feelings, and suspicions. I love hearing from you and I'll see you all for the next and final chapter next week.


	13. XIII

_Too late. Too late. Too late._

_Why must he always be too late? Why could he not save even one child?_

_Jack swept into Pippa's dark room, completely ignoring the useless guard and darting directly to the bed._

_Empty._

_But he knew that already._

_It wasn't a surprise._

_Pitch had won._

_Movement by the window had him jerking around, his movements sharp and his mild -white eyes wild._

_Pippa!_

_That was her, he was sure of it._

_There was still time! He could save her._

_Across the room. Out the window. There! Across the street._

_Flinch. Stumble back. Blink._

_Is that the sleigh?_

_Bunny._

_Paws grabbing him. Holding him._

_No! He had to cat her. Pippa! He had to stop her._

_"too late. Jack. Jack!" Shake. Rattle. Worried green eyes._

_Bunny? Cold._

_"Lets go home."_

_Home._

_Lake._

_Not Lake!_

_Pole._

_North. Cold._

_Where was Pippa?_

_So, so cold._

While the Guardians piled around their youngest member, whispering among themselves and trying to Keep Jack from freezing himself or wandering off in a daze; Pitch was standing in a familiar house at the foot of a tiny little bed.

He stared down at the sleeping child while he contemplated his inevitable success.

The Guardian's foolishly believed him finished, focusing on the young man falling apart under their fingertips, too busy to even realize that were was one last child.

One thin string of Belief holding their precious Jack together.

But that was all about to change.

The tiny blonde brat stretched, her tiny body sliding over the sheets and tumbling into a heap of blankets and stuffed rabbits on the floor.

Around the room the shadows took form until six small fearlings surrounded the bed, their white-gold eyes fixed on the child.

Pitch smiled as he stepped forward, dagger gleaming in his hand, dripping sizzling shadows onto the floor.

He had one last piece to add to his collection.

_****_

Up at the North Pole, tucked in a nest of Guardians and blankets, Jack Frost's eyes napped open almost glowing white in the moonlight.

_"Sophie."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm terribly sorry for the long wait. I meant to update this forever ago but my computer crashed and by the time I got everything fixed I somehow convinced myself I had posted this. It wasn't until a couple weeks ago when BlueLeader kindly brought it to my attention.
> 
> Please Note:  
> This is the actual ending. Please don't ask for a continuation since this is how I meant it to end. Keep in mind that this is a Halloween fic and as such the ending is left deliberately open. I wanted to leave it up to the readers if the Guardians reach Sophie in time...or not.
> 
> I've never really attempted to write a horror story, or even a mildly scary story before, so I hope it read well. I also hope you enjoyed it and will keep a look out for my other, less creepy stories.
> 
> Review!

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so anyone who's ever read my work will probably know this isn't my usual genre, but I thought with Halloween on the rise I had to do something. So this is my attempt at a creepy-pasta...or at least a mildly creepy Halloween story. We'll see how it goes.
> 
> This story will be roughly 13 chapters. Please feel free to review, I love to hear all your thoughts and feelings and I would adore your input and guesses as to what's going to happen next.
> 
> Also, I'd like to thank my lovely beta, FandomAffairs, please go check out her stories if you have time.


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